The three friends of Olivia

Olivia hasn’t had access to children her age for over a year. She’ll be starting a new pre-school this week, where she will be with 15 other children her age twice a week. In the meantime, if she can’t or doesn’t want to play with her sister, she plays with Reynacassel, Palley, and Tombo. The idea of Tombo comes from the movie “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” but her friend Tombo is not merely a copy in the character of the movie. Her Tombo has developed beyond that. Sort of like when a character in a popular TV series is spun-off to their own show. As for Reynacassel and Palley…well, they have no known existence prior to or beyond her own creation of them.

Lately, Reynacassel is sort of a black sheep. She is constantly calling Olivia “stupid,” which is duly reported to her nearest parent, who will usually advise her tell Reynacassel that she won’t play with her anymore until she can be nicer, or something along those lines. When I see Olivia alone in another room suddenly push the air near her and say, “Go away!” I can be fairly certain it is Reynacassel at work. Palley is frequently sick, so is more of a discussion topic than playmate. Tombo is the only one that can counted on to play nice with Olivia.